The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

Chapter 1 Summary:

In chapter one the narrator gives backround information to the reader. The chapter begins with the narrator talking about his childhood, or rather saying that he doesn't want to talk about his childhood. He does mention his brother, who is an author. D.B.,the brother, now lives in Hollywood. Next, the narrator starts telling the reader about the day that he left Pency. Pency Prep is the boarding school that he attended in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. The day that he left was a Saturday. There was a football game against Saxon Hall. This game was the biggest of the season and everybody was down there. The narrator was standing on top of Thomsen Hill, instead of being down at the game. He had just got back from New York with the fencing team. He was the manager and he left the equipment on the subway. Another reason he wasn't at the game was because he had to say goodbye to his history teacher. Then he mentions that he was kicked out of the school. After he leaves the hill and starts walking to Mr. Spencer's , his history teacher, house. Mrs. Spencer opens the door and the reader finds out that the narrator's name is Holden. The chapter ends with Mrs. Spencer telling Holden that Mr. Spencer is in his room.

Interpretive Question:
What does Holden standing on the top hill symbolize?
- It symbolizes how Holden feels alone. He could have been at the game with his classmates but he choose to stand on a hill, alone and out of sight. That tells use that Holden is a loner. Also, if Holden supported the school he would be at the game cheering the team on. That suggests that holden doesn't like the school, he feels like a outsider and he doesn't fit in with the crowd.

Holden’s Relationship with his Brother:
Holden’s relationship between his brother and himself seems very distant. Holden even comes off to be a little jealous about the fact that his brother has a jaguar, and a job as a writer. Reasons to support this point is that Holden says his brother did not always used to have a lot of money. It sounds like if he didn’t have a lot of money, he and his brother would have a better relationship. Holden also dislikes that his brother gets to live in Hollywood, while he has to stay in a “crumby place”. Despite Holden’s disrespect for his brother he does like one of his pieces that he wrote when he was at home called “The Secret Goldfish”. It is assumed that D.B., Holden’s brother wrote this before he went to Hollywood. Once D.B. left, Holden and he became distant causing tension in their relationship.

Chapter 2 Holden and Mr. Spencer

In the second chapter of J. D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the narrator, Holden, introduces the reader to his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. The reader realizes their common characteristics very quickly. In one example of their similarity on page seven, Holden remarks on Mr. Spencer’s blanket, “He showed us this beaten up Navajo blanket…You could tell Mr. Spencer’d got a bang out of buying it.” Holden is similarly attached to a hat, “I took off my hat and looked at it for about the nineteenth time ‘I got it in New York this morning. For a buck.’” Mr. Spencer and Holden are alike because they both share a strange attachment to random items that they have purchased. This is but one example of their similarities. Holden and Mr. Spencer are portrayed similarly throughout the first six chapters of The Catcher in the Rye .

Symbolism of Central Park Ducks

One of the symbols used throughout Catcher in the Rye is that of the animals in a pond in Central Park. This symbol is first brought up in chapter 2 when Holden is talking to Mr. Spencer. Instead of listening to Mr. Spencer, Holden begins to wonder where all the ducks go when the pond in Central Park freezes over. He wonders if "some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo...or if they just flew away." The question serves as a metaphor for Holden's feelings. Holden is like a migrating duck. When situations get hard for him, just as when it gets too cold for ducks, he flees. In asking where the ducks go when the pond freezes, Holden is really asking what he should do in difficult situations instead of running away. Holden expresses a want for someone to help and take care of him when he asks if someone comes to get the ducks and take them to the zoo.

Summary:

Holden takes a visit to Mr.Spencer as requested by Mr. Spencer for goodbye purposes. Mr. Spencer is Holden's history teacher. He lectures Holden about him being expelled. Holden almost puts off what Mr.Holden is lecturing him about because he is so used to this type of lecture. Mr. Spencer has Holden read aloud his essay which brought him into his failure in Mr.Spencer's class. This is almost a form of torture for Holden, especially since his essay is awful and he ends the essay with a note. This note is a way for Holden to make Mr.Spencer, failing Holden, a lot easier. Holden does not want Mr. Spencer to feel bad for failing him. Holden knows he got what he deserved. During Holden's long lecture, he interups Mr. Spencer in spite of boredom, but has the excuse of packing.

Key Quotation

In chapter two, on page 8, Mr. Spencer confirms what the headmaster had recently told Holden. Mr. Spencer says ‘“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.”’ Mr. Spencer is trying to get Holden to take responsibility for failing four out of five of his classes. He wants Holden to start to play the rules of the game and stop failing his classes. After hearing this Holden thinks that life is a game but only “if you get on the side where all the hot shots are.” On the other hand “if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it.” When Holden describes this it is implied that Holden is on the “other side”. He is on the side where no one is there to help him; there are no “hot-shots”. Holden doesn’t feel that life is a game at all because he is on the losing side and can’t get off of it. Holden feels that he is at an unfair disadvantage and that this is what is keeping from being able to play the “game” correctly.

Chapter 3 Summary of Chapter

Eager to get it off his chest, Holden is quick to begin Chapter 3 with an admission: "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life... It's terrible." He goes on to give the history of Ossenburger, the man for whom his dorm building is named after, and his own experience with him. After said description, he returns to his room and reads Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen. He is quick to proclaim his illiteracy, but this is doubtful since he lists off a considerable reading list. Just when he's settled in with the book and his new one-dollar hunting hat, Robert Ackley walks in. Ackley rooms next to Holden, and has awful hygiene; he bugs Holden about his hat, his mistake on the subway, and his book. After some time, Holden gets tired of Ackley messing with him, so he messes back Holden gives Ackley some trouble over his often-unbrushed teeth while Ackley grooms his nails. In the midst of their banter and half-hearted bickering, Stradlater bursts in and asks to borrow Holden’s houndstooth jacket for a date. Ackley leaves and Holden abruptly ends the chapter with another admission: even though Stradlater is pretty arrogant, he "had a damn good build... I have to admit it."

Motif: Hospitality
When first introduce to the character, Ackley the reader is thankful not to have encountered him in their lifetime. From the eye of Holden, Ackley is an obnoxious nuisance who doesn’t know when he isn’t wanted. Ackley barges into Holden’s room whenever he wishes without hesitation. To make matters worse he fools around with not only Holden’s personal belongs but also those of his roommate, Stadlater. Ackley illustrated as having bad hygiene. Holden describes his awfully dirty teeth and his unbearable acne. Despite all of these terrible qualities Holden is able to tolerate Ackley and entertain him as a guest in his dorm room. Holden jokes around with Ackley at the bottom of page 21 pulling his hat over his eyes and repeating, “Mother darling, give me your hand. Why won’t you give me your hand?” Holden even goes as far as inviting Ackley to a movie in a later chapter. Holden’s actions show that even though he is disgusted and does wish that Ackley would leave his room he is still shows sympathy towards him. Holden feels badly about the way Ackley is treated and chooses to be kind to him.

Chapter 4 Summary of Chapter 4

At the beginning of chapter 4, Stradlater goes to the washroom to shave before his date and Holden joins him. A description of the washroom and of Stradlater's good looks are given.) As Holden sits on the washbowl next to Stradlater shaving, Stradlater asks him to write a composition for his english class and Holden agrees to do so if he has time. After a while of sitting there, Holden begins to joke around for the fun of it. His tap dancing and fun from putting Stradlater in a wrestling hold is cut short when Jane Gallagher, Stradlater's date for the night, is mentioned

Character Notes on Holden:
In chapter 3 the reader learns not only that Holden is a terrific liar, but that he is quite a reader. From his list of books one can start to see why he is passing english. Though he did take the same course before, Holden takes interest in english because of his love for reading. This part of his character development comes up again in chapter 4 when his roommate Stradlater asks him to write a descriptive composition for him. The fact that Stradlater would ask him, and tell him too not make it to good, shows the reader that Holden is good at both the comprehension, reading, and writing parts of english. Holden shows his secret love for writing when he is bored and decides to help Stradlater out and write his composition. Holden comes up with a very original idea that Stradlater later questions him about. By picking his younger brother's, Allie's, baseball mitt . Holden opens up to the reader about a gloomy part from his past through writing a composition. This shows where Holden is most passionate and comfortable, in reading and writing.

Chapter 5

Summary: Chapter 5 starts off with Holden telling the reader abou Saturday dinner at Pencey. He explains that it is supposed to be a big deal because they serve steak but Holden believes they only serve steak so that when a student's parents visit the next day, they can tell their parents that they had steak - a seemingly fancy meal. He finds this funny because in reality, the steak dinner is overcooked and not tasty at all. The only people who can even stomach the dessert are lower school kids and Ackley (who, according to Holden, eats everything). Holden then tells of one night after Saturday dinner when he and some of the other boys had a snowball fight that was "very childish", but enjoyed by everyone. Holden and his friend, Mal Brossard, decide to take the bus into Agerstown and see a movie. Holden asks to invite Ackley along because he "never does any thing on a Saturday night". Mal makes it clear that he isn't too crazy about Ackley coming, but agrees anyway.While he is waiting for Ackley to get ready, Holden makes a snowball and starts to throw it at a car and then a firehydrant. He changes his mind about hitting them because both looked "so nice and white" So he carries it with him until the bus driver makes him get rid of it.Instead of going to a movie that they have already seen, the boys go to get burgers and play on the pinball machine. Holden says that he didn't mind not seeing the movie because Mal and Ackley laugh at the wrong parts and he doesn't even enjoy sitting next to them. After getting back to the dorms, Holden and Ackley go back to Holden's room. Ackley lays on Holden's bed and tells Holden about a girl he allegedly had sex with. Holden knows Ackley is lying because the story changes every time he tells it. After kicking Ackley out, Holden starts to write the composition for Stradlater. He initially has trouble thinking of a topic for a room or house per Stradlater's instructions. Instead, he writes about a baseball glove that belonged to his brother, Allie. Holden says that Allie was the smartest and nicest member of the family. He had red hair and the baseball glove he used was left handed and had his poems written all over it. Holden say that after Allie died, he had to be psychoanalyzed because he punched out all the windows in the garage.Holden finishes writing and is unable to sleep, so he listens to Ackley snoring. He comments on the many ailments Ackley has and reveals that he feels a little sorry for him.

Summary of Chapter 5
The chapter starts when Holden goes to dinner and describes how Pencey gives the students steak for dinner on Saturday nights so they will seem more impressive to parents who ask their son "What did you have for dinner last night?" After dinner, Holden, along with Mal Brossard and Ackley, goes to Agerstown to get a hamburger and see a movie. Once there, they eat and play pinball for a while, before taking the bus back to Pencey. After getting back to the dorm, Ackley goes to Holden's room and talks about a girl he used to date. Holden eventually gets him to leave, then begins writing a paper for Stradlater. The paper describes a baseball glove that used to belong to Holden's brother Allie. Allie was the younger, intelligent brother that Holden was very close with. He died of leukemia when Holden was 13. Holden described how after Allie died, he went to the garage and broke the window by punching it. The chapter ends as Holden finishes the paper.

Chapter 5: Interpretive Question Why do you think that Holden agrees to do things for Stradlater? Was it really because Stradlater is a kind and considerate person, or is it that Holden is being used? -- At first, Holden talks a lot about how Stradlater is a good person who would help you with things, no questions asked. but as the plot-line continues, it seems that Stradlater is using Holden over and over again. When Stradlater first comes into where Ackley and Holden are speaking, the first thing he asks is "If you're not going out anyplace special, how 'bout lending me your hound's-tooth jacket?" Holden agrees, then Stradlater asks Holden "How 'bout writing me a composition for me, for English?" Although Holden thinks that Stradlater is a great guy, after wrestling with him, Stradlater said "cut the crap". Now Stradlater doesn't seem to be very nice, and it looks as though he is using Holden for his own needs.

Chapter 6

Summary: Holden is thinking about when Stradlater comes back from his date with Jane. He doesn’t remember where he was or what he was doing, when he heard Stradlater’s foots coming down the hall. As soon as he walked in the door to their room, he starts complaining about how cold it was outside. There is a short period of silence before Stradlater asks Holden if he wrote his composition for English. Holden tells him that it’s on the bed and Stradlater reads it. After he read it, he starts yelling at Holden and asks him why he wrote it on a baseball glove and not a room. Holden gets furious and rips it apart, leaving Stradlater even more mad. There is another short period of silence before Holden asks why he came back so late and a bunch of other questions. When he asks Stradlater what they did and is told that they spent the whole time in a teacher’s car. Holden, then, tries to punch him but it doesn’t work. He ends up on the ground with Stradlater’s knees on his chest. He eventually gets up when Holden says he will stop calling him names, but as soon as he does, Holden calls him a moron. Stradlater immediately punches Holden in the face. After he washes his face, which is covered in blood, he goes in to Ackley’s room to see if he is awake.

Chapter 6: interpretive question

Why did Holden feel obligated to stick up for Jane by attempting to punch Stradlater after Holden found out what they had done?

- In the earlier chapter it was indirectly shown that Holden had liked Jane during his childhood. Holden seemed to remember every little fact about her from the way she played checkers, to the way she practiced ballet. Holden felt that Jane was purposely used by Stradlater just so that he could "have a good time." The narrator became upset because if he were in Stradlater's shoes he would have never done any of those to his childhood crush. Holden feels protective of Jane because he knows about her flawed household. Her step father was a booze hound, and she obviously did not have a strong male role model in her home. After Holden told Stradlater this piece of information he might have used it to his advantage. Holden would never lay a finger on Jane because he knows what she has been through in the past. He has too much respect towards her to do anything of that sort. Holden stuck up for Jane because he thought that Stradlater had used the information given against her.

Chapter 7 Summary In chapter 7, Holden goes to Ackley's room after his fight with Stradlater. Hearing the previous racket next door, Ackley questions Holden about it but Holden only brushes it off, explaining to the reader that he never shares his personal life with Ackley because he views him as not intelligent. Since he is questioned more about this later, Holden plays with Ackley's emotions but joking that it was because he was defending Ackley's honor to Stradlater. After the boys talk for a few minutes, Ackley falls asleep and Holden continues to think about the things that might have happened between Stradlater and Jane that night. Upon feeling depressed from this thinking, Holden wakes Ackley up with a random question about monasteries. Ackley is already annoyed from being woken up but his emotion soon turns to anger when he thinks Holden is trying to criticize his Catholic religion. Holden does not care to listen to Ackley's retort and so he walks out in to what seems like a depressing corridor. He soon suddenly decides to leave Pency that night and stay in New York City instead of waiting until Wednesday to go home. After he thinks about this plan, packs his belongings, and finishes the last of his business at Pency by selling his typewriter, Holden prepares to leave. As he looks down the corridor, he starts to cry and puts on his hat with a malicious farewell message to the students left there. After that, there is not much else to do but leave Pency as soon as he can.

Chapter 8

Sum mary: After leaving his school Holden decides that it was too late to take a cab and instead decides to walk down to the station. Holden’s face was hurting right where Stradlater had punched him because it was so cold out. He got to the station and didn’t have to wait long for the train. While he waited he washed the blood off of his face with snow. The car he was on was completely empty when this lady boarded it and sat down right next to him. Holden describes her as being in her 40’s and very good looking. She asks Holden about the Pencey sticker on his bag. Holden tells her that he goes there and is classmates with her son, Ernest Morrow. He lies to her and tells her that his name is Rudolf Schmidt who really is the janitor. Holden then tells Mrs. Morrow that her son is really a great guy. This is also a lie being that Ernest is really more of the school bully than anything else. Holden then continues to lie telling her that her son was almost nominated to be class president. He says that the only reason he wasn’t elected was because he didn’t let them nominate him. He says that he was too shy. He then offers Mrs. Morrow to have a drink with him but she turns him down. Mrs. Morrow asks why he is going home so early because Christmas break doesn’t start till Wednesday. Holden responds with another lie saying that he has a brain tumor.

Chapter 9 Summary: Chapter 9 starts at the Penn train station. Holden is all alone and does not know who to call. He considers the possibilities of calling either his brother D.B, he younger sister Phoebe, Sally Hayes or Jane Galliger. He decides not to call any of them because of different reasons. His brother is in Hollywood and probably wouldn't care much and his sister Phoebe is too young. He finally decides he will just stay at an hotel called the Edmont Hotel. The ducks are brought up in this chapter as Holden is in the cab on the way to the hotel. He asks the cab driver where the ducks go in the winter, but the cab driver rudely disregards his question. Holden then finally reaches his hotel room and decides to take a look out at the courtyard. He finds many weird actions going on and decides to take a weird action of his own. He calls Faith Cavendish, a slut, to ask her to come keep him company. She declines offering for tomarow, but holden's not interested.

Why does Holden keep thinking of Jane?

When Holden gets off the train, he immediately goes to a phone booth. He considers calling Jane but makes excuses to himself so that he won’t have to. Why does he do this? Holden does this because this is the woman that he loves. Holden is upset and he needs to talk to someone. He feels isolated. In the beginning of chapter nine he decides that he wants to call someone, “Then I thought of giving Jane Gallagher’s mother a buzz, and find out when Jane’s vacation started, but I didn’t feel like it.” Holden feels the need to talk to someone but he makes excuses because he’s embarrassed. Telling Jane how he got kicked out of school would be embarrassing and he feels intimidated by Stradlater. Later he considers calling Jane again, “I started toying with the idea… of giving old Jane a buzz…The only reason I didn’t do it was because I wasn’t in the mood.” Holden realizes his isolation but continues making excuses for himself. After talking to two taxi drivers, three women, and going to a bar and drinking, he still feels isolated so he thinks of Jane again, “I held hands with her all the time, for instance… Jane was different…All you knew was you were really happy.” After remembering their times together, Holden is still upset and alone. Later he even gets a stripper. Holden keeps thinking of Jane because he loves her and the time they have spent together. While he is isolated he knows she would be perfect to talk to but he makes excuses to not contact her because of his embarrassment and cowardice.

Chapter 10 Analysis/Explanation: The Lavender Room Quote

So all of a sudden, I sort of leaned over and said, “Would any of you girls care to dance?” I didn’t ask them crudely or anything. Very suave, in fact. But God damn it, they thought that was a panic, too. They started giggling some more. I’m not kidding, they were three real morons. – Page 70

At the Lavender Room in Chapter 10, Holden attempts to put his womanizing skills into practice. Using his charm and smooth style (both of which he believes he is in full possession of), he glides over to the ladies… only to be rejected. He is clearly astounded and confused as to why; surely his “suave” moves, the curt coolness of his speech, and the “sort of leaned over” poses should have caused them to fall into his waiting arms. This confusion upsets him, and he thinks that they are “real morons” because they don’t appreciate his smoothness.

This leads the reader to understand that Holden is more than a little generous in his estimation of himself. It is at this passage that the reader really gets a glimpse of the Holden that the outside world sees – he is, in fact, just a naive boy all too ready to jump the gap between childhood and adulthood. He wants to be out and about in the world, getting women and being the attractive king of the dance floor. His arrogance demonstrates that he subconsciously wishes – and pretends to be – something he is not, or not yet is. With time, perhaps Holden will mature into an appealing young fellow, but in the Lavender Room scene, the reader learns that Holden is a particularly unreliable narrator because he has such a skewed perspective of the world and himself.

Chapter 11

The chapter begins with Holden walking out of the lobby when he lets his mind wander, sits, and begins thinking of Jane. His reminiscing begins at their neighbor summer homes in maine and some of the times they shared. Throughout the chapter the reader realizes how much Holden liked Jane, and sees a more compassionate side of him. Holden shows his feelings for Jane through actions like, showing her and only her Allie's baseball mitt. This action showed he trusted jane with something that was very dear to him, and not so easy to share. Holden talks about how his mother wasn't very fond of jane and her mother, like they were "snubbing her or something when they didn't say hello." His mothers opinion didn't stop him though, especially in the scene where he reminisces on one of their checkers games. Holden talks about how that "booze hound" Jane's mother married, came outside asking Jane for cigarettes and when she didn't answer he asked her again. Holden was so amazed, when Jane again didn't answer or even look up. When he finally went back inside and Holden asked what was up she tried to hold it in and finally shed a tear. Then when Holden got up and practically sat on her lap she broke down crying and he just sat there kissing her everywhere, except her lips. In that scene we see a side of Holden that the reader probably didn't think existed. After that she went and changed into a red sweater that Holden said knocked him out and went to the movies. Finishing off the chapter Holden thinks about jane, and how he loved holding hands with her, because all you knew was you were happy, no matter the state of your hand, sweaty or shaking, you were happy. The chapter ends when Holden suddenly gets upset, realizing all this reminicing makes him depressed he returns to his room. Then he grabs his coat, catches a cab, and heads down to Ernie's, a nightclub in Greenwich village.

Does this chapter give the reader a different insight to the character of Holden?
- Yes. The reader sees Holden describing someone he genuinely cares for without any trace of his usual cynicism. He describes Jane's character without calling her a "phoney" - the adjective Holden uses most often to describe others. This chapter helps clear up Holden's feeling about Jane. The reader can now tell that Holden has a crush on her. Jane seems to be the only character able to access a side of his personality that isn't cynical. When describing other characters, Holden doesn't show much, if any, affection for those he says are friends, or much respect for the adults in his life. Jane is the only character he's described without a trace of sarcasm. This shows that Jane is something special to Holden, and helps the reader see a much nicer side to Holden's personality.

Chapter 12 Symbolism of Central Park Ducks cont.

Another side of the Holden/Duck metaphor can be seen in the beginning of chapter 12. When Holden asks his cab driver, Horwitz, about the ducks, Horwitz gets extremely upset and out of nowhere tells Holden about what happens to the fish in the same pond. Horwitz explains to Holden that the fish stay right where they are and freeze along with the pond. Holden has trouble understanding this and Horwitz responds with, "If you was a fish, Mother Nature'd take care of you , wouldn't she?". The fish can be seen as a metaphor for people like Horwitz: people who, instead of rebelling as Holden may, stay cool and 'go with the flow', accepting whatever happens to them. Holden and the ducks can be seen as creatures that take off instead of dealing with their problems..

Holden' s encounter with Horwitz (the cab driver)

After leaving his hotel room, Holden decides to catch a cab to Ernie's place and listen to him play piano. At first Holden was feeling lonely and depressed, but then he and his cab driver strike up conversation and he begins to feel more comfortable. He learns that his cab driver's name is Horitz. Holden then asks horitz an unusual question, that he spends a lot of time wondering about himself. "Hey, Horwitz," Holden says. "You ever pass by the lagoonin Central Park? Down by Central Park South?" "The what?" Horwitz responds. "The lagoon. That little lake. like, there. Where the ducks are. You know. " Says Holden in turn. Holden brings up the lake with the ducks out of complete no where. This could make one wonder, why does he care so much about this random lake? As the dialogue continues, we find out specifically that Holden cares about where the ducks go during the winter. Horwitz, who starts off as an okay guy takes this offensively and begins to randomly talk about the fish in the lake. Holden ,who is confused keeps asking Horwitz about the ducks. However, he does not let the fish thing go. Horitz instantly sides with the fish and tells Holden that hey have it harder off, and that during the winter they just stay exactly where they are. Horwitz gets really worked up about this, and it clearly sounds like he was relating it to a personal situation. Holden stops discussing about the ducks and the lake completly. Before Horwitz drivers off he asks Holden an interesting question; " If you was a fish, Mother Nature'd take care of you, wouldn't she? Right? You don't think them fish just die when it gets to be winter, do ya" asks horwitz. Holden responds no. Then horwitz speeds off. Gathered form this dialogue and Horwitz's reaction, one would figure that in one point in his life something tramatic happened. And when Holden mentioned the fish, it hit a nerve and caused Horwitz to react severely.

Summary: In the beginning of the chapter, Holden is sitting in a cab on his way to Ernie's, a club located in New York. While on his way, he asks the cab driver, Horwitz, what happens to the ducks when the lagoon, in Central Park, freezes over. Horwitz thinks that this is the stupidest question he has ever heard. After a little while, Horwitz says that the fish don't go anywhere and stay put in the lagoon. But, Holden thinks that the fish and the ducks are different. After a long conversation about the ducks and fish in the lagoon, Holden asks Horwitz if he wants to go and grab a drink. Horwitz says no, so Holden gets out of the cab at Ernie's. He walks inside and it is jam-packed with people. Ernie was playing the piano, so it was pretty quiet inside. While he was playing the piano, Holden kept thinking to himself that no one is that could at it. After Ernie is finished playing, Holden gets sat at a very crummy table where you couldn't see anything. He got seated next to a bunch of jerks who were talking about football games and feeling each other under the tables. Out of the blue, Lillian Simmons came up to him with her Navy boyfriend.. She was his brother, D.B.'s, ex-girlfriend. Holden and Lillian talked for a little bit, but when she asked him to come join her, he told her that he had to leave. As Holden left Ernie's, he started to wish he hadn't told her he was leaving.

Chapter 13

Summary:

At the beginning of chapter 13 Holden is walking back to the hotel after an uneventful time at Ernie's. While walking Holden realizes that his hands are really cold because his gloves were stolen at Pency. Holden fantasizes aabout what he were to do to the crook if he were to ever find him. Holden enjoys describing the the guy's "yellow" face when he enters the room. Holden says that he wouldn't hit the guy though, he would just stand there trying to look tough and hard, just enough to scare the guy and then he would leave. After Holden arrives at the hotel and is in the elveator, the elevator operator offers holden a prostitute for $5. Holden agrees to his offer and heads back to his room to prepeare for her. As Holden is wating for the date the reader finds out some unexpected news from Holden, he is a virgin. Holden states that he has had many opportunities to loose his
virginity but he never goes through with it, because when a girl says stop he actually stops. Because of his situation Holden was feeling nervous about the prostitute coming into his hotel room. Holden says that he felt sexy, and it reminded him of a book he read where a guy could sleep with any woman becuse of how rich he was. when the prostitute finally came to the door she was wearing a trench coat and a green dress. When Sunny, the prostitute, started to seem like she was in a rush Holden told her that he wanted them to talk before they did anything. Sunny thought it odd but agreed, when she tried t seduce Holden for the second time, he rejected again. When holden decidend that he didnt want anything from sunny she asked for her $10. Holden told her that
he was only supposed to pay her $5 he gave her the five he said he was supposed to owe and Sunny left.

Chapter 13 interpretive question:
How does Holden end up in a situation where he is talking to a prostitute in his room?

- - At first, when Holden is coming back from the night club where he saw Lillian Simmons, he meets Maurice, the elevator guy. As soon as Holden walks in the elevator, he is asked if he wants a prostitute to come and give him a good time. The reason that Holden didn't refuse was because he "was feeling so depressed that [he] didn't even think." He claimed "when you're feeling depressed, you can't even think." This was how the prostitute was set to come into his room. After seeing the prostitute, Holden felt very peculiar, and this increases when she suddenly got up and pulled her dress over her head. Holden didn't want to do it with her at that point, thinking "Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling. I felt much more depressed than sexy." instead, Holden starts chatting with her. So this is how Holden ends up in this situation where he is talking to a prostitute in his room.

Chapter 14

Summary:
Holden has just gotten through having a conversation with Sunny, a prostitute who Holden hires. In Holden’s depressed state he starts thinking about his deceased brother and begins speaking out loud while replaying an old memory in his mind. Holden rekindles childhood memories of when he lied to his younger brother in order to play with Bobby Fallon alone. He thinks about how Allie felt alone waiting in front ofBobby Fallon’s house. Holden expresses his opinions on the Disciples from the bible through discussions he had with Arthur Childs. Author believes that the Disciples were chosen while Holden’s holds on to his idea that the disciples were chosen at random and never betrayed Jesus. While Holden lay in his bed Maurice and Sunny came knocking at the door. Sunny argued that Holden owed her ten dollars. Holden contradicted her augment saying that Maurice said she only charged five dollars. Holden kept head strong and didn’t budge. Finally Maurice pinned Holden against the wall. Maurice handled Holden roughly as Sunny went into Holden’s wallet to retrieve the money she was owed. Holden couldn’t keep his smart mouth from saying, “You’re a stupid chiseling moron, and in about two years you’ll be one of those scraggy guys that come up to you on the street and ask you for a dime for coffee. You’ll have snot all over your dirty filthy overcoat, and you’ll be-“Before Holden could finish his statement Maurice smacked him and he had a pain in his stomach. Soon after Holden has yet another fantasy though this time it’s as if he is in an action film. He visions himself wounded, struggling down the stairs down to the elevator. He shoots Maurice in the stomach then throws the gun down the elevator shaft. When he get back to his room there is Jane waiting to hold his cigarette for him. Holden sits in the bathroom for a while when he finally goes to his bed to lay down and considers suicide but declines the idea because he doesn’t want people looking at his body.

Analysis/ Addition to Summary:

While Holden is pinned to the wall by Maurice he begins to cry. Holden cries because he feels he is being bullied, not because Maurice had hit him. It was before Maurice had put his hands on him. Also, Holden fantacizing about shooting and killing Maurice shows a insecurity Holden has. It makes you think that holden pretends to be cooler and tougher than he is. Throughut the story Holden stresses how phony other people are, but pretending to be tough would make him phony as well. That may be another reason why he cried, he was belittled by Maurice. In a way it snapped him back to reality. Holden, you are not as tough as you think you are. His power was taken away and he felt that he had no control over the situation, but that was not the first time that Holden felt a lack of control. For example: losing the fight to Stradlater, the death of his brother Allie or even Stradlater going on a date with Jane. Holden is trying to run away from his problems and insecurities but he keeps stumbling upon them.

Symbolism of Holden's Hat:
Since Holden first bought his red hunting hat at the beginning of the book he has developed the pattern of wearing it on odd occasions. Holden wears it when leaving Pensey and the bar Ernie's; both in a huff. When Holden is leaving Pensey prep. he was in a horrible mood and has turned to going back to New York early. When Holden is walking home from Ernie's he had just ran into D.B.'s ex-girlfriend, Lillian Simmons and flees the scene at the memory of her obnoxious personality. Instead of taking a cab he decides to put on his hat and walk home because he feels like a coward for running away. In chapter 3 Holden first describes his hat as "a people shooting hat." This is a relative quote because Holden seems to put on his hat when he is in a bad mood. He doesn't literally shoot people but instead is just in a dark, irritable mood. This hat also might be a symbol of Holden's individually or rebellion by its out-of-the-ordinary appearance. The red color might is similar to the color of Holden's deceased brother's hair. When Holden described Allie, he seemed to admire and love him very much. The hat might be in memory or a way to be more like his brother. The hat might also be a security mechanism since Holden wears it when he is out on his own with no one there to help him.

Chapter 15

Summary

In the beginning of chapter 15 in The Catcher in the Rye Holden wakes up in a hotel room and decides to call Sally Hayes. He explains that Sally is girl that he has known for years but someone he is not extremely fond of and thinks she is stupid. While they are on the phone they decide to meet at two o’clock to go see a show. After Holden gets off the phone he packs his bags and leaves. Holden then stores his bags in Grand Central Station and he goes to eat breakfast. While Holden is eating breakfast he begins talking to two nuns. The reader finds out that Holden has problems with people having cheap suitcases while he has expensive ones. Holden seems to enjoy the nuns very much and he gives them ten dollars for charity. They discuss Romeo and Juliet and Holden is relieved they didn’t ask if he is Catholic.

Chapter 16 Summary:
After having breakfast with the nuns, Holden decides to go on a long walk. He walked over to Broadway to look for a record store. He wanted to buy phoebe a record called “Little Shirley Beans” that he thought Phoebe would like. Holden thinks because it was Sunday that he would be able to find Phoebe in the park and give her the record because she often roller-skates in he park on Sundays. He sees a family walking through the park that has just come from church. Their son is walking on the curb while singing and humming a song. He recognizes the song as “If a body catch a body coming through the rye.” He says that he makes him feel better. Holden likes him because he is very innocent and doesn’t really care what others think of him. He is not being a phony and is just being himself. Holden finds a record store and buys the record. He decides to call Jane but hangs up when her mother answers the phone he hangs up. He also buys tickets for Sally and him to see a show. The tickets are for I Know My Love with the Lunts. He then goes into the park to look for Phoebe but doesn’t find her. He asks a girl on roller-skates about her age where she might be. She says she is at a museum with her class. She soon realizes that it is Sunday and there is no school. Holden helps the girl tie her skates and offers her hot chocolate, which she turns down. Holden really likes that she is very nice and polite and says thank you. This is another example of Holden really liking a child. He likes children so much because they still have their innocence and are just being themselves. Holden continues to think about the museum and goes over to it but does not go in.

Analysis : In this chapter Holden makes a visit to the Museum. He visit's it before he meets up with Sally. Holden has many problems. He has fears of dealing with conflict and change and also hates Phony's. In the museum Holden does not have to worry about any of his problems which is very comforting for him. In the museum the Eskimo's or animals stay in their case exactly how they are. Holden does not have to worry about them changing and obviously does not have to worry about a conflict with one of them. Also the statues are not phony as Holden also explains, " The only thing [besides the museum figures] that would be different is you." In that part Holden is almost complimenting the museum for not being phony. In this chapter Holden obviously reveals a strong like museum for comfort reasons of his own.

Chapter 17 Chapter Summary
Holden waits for Sally to arrive for their date at the Biltmore. He watches girls and thinks about how it's sad that they'll wind up marrying guys who aren't that great. Sally arrives, and Holden feels like he is in love with her when he sees her. They take a cab to the theatre, and Holden tells Sally he loves her in the cab. They see the Lunts perform a play which is, in Holden's opinion, on the "crappy side." After the first act, they go out for cigarettes and Sally sees a boy who she knows. She and the boy begin to talk. The boy is described by Holden as Ivy league and a phony. After the play, Sally convinces Holden to go out ice skating. They both are terrible so they leave to get drinks. While getting drinks, Holden asks Sally if she ever gets fed up, and if she gets scared that "everything was going to go lousy unless you did something?" He asks her to run away with him, and she says no. They fight and he tells her she's a pain in his ass. Sally immediately starts crying and Holden starts to apologize. He offers to take her home, and she says no. When she tells him no boy's ever said that to her face, Holden starts laughing. He leaves the rink after Sally rejects his apologies.

Chapter 18 Summary:

The chapter opens up with Holden leaving the ice rink. He is sort of hungry so he goes to the drugstore and buys a sandwich. He then decides to give Jane a call and see if she is home yet. He goes on to talk about how he has never danced with Jane before but has seen her dance with another guy. Then Holden starts talking about the guy who she was dating, named Al Pike. After he goes on to say how you never know how girls think and he gives an example of that. He does end up calling Jane, but nobody's answers. He finally decides to give a old friend a call. Carl Luce went to Whooton School with him. Carl is very smart and now goes to Columbia. He calls him up and Carl says that he cannot make dinner but they can meet for drinks at 10 at the Wicker Bar. Holden as nothing to do till 10 so he decides to go to the movies at Radio City. He goes in when the rockettes are doing a statgeshow. Then after that is over the movie starts and he says that it is horrible. He goes on to describe the movie. When the movie was over he starts to walk to Wicker Bar and he starts to think of the war. He talks about how he would not be able to go to war and how D.B had gone to the war for 4
years. The chapter ends with Holden walking and thinking about the war.

Analysis:
Before meeting Carl Luce, Holden goes a show at Radio City. In Chapters 16 and 17, Holden mentions how much he hates watching shows. Mostly because of the actors. Why would Holden hate the actors in the shows? As Holden has mentioned many times before, he hates anyone who, in his opinion, is "phony". The job of a actor is to pretend to be someone who they are not. Therefore, watching a show is watching people pretend to be something they are not, or as Holden would say, watching people be phony. So why would Holden go to show if they go aginst everything he satnds for? Correction, what he says he stands for. He goes aginst his own beliefs by going to the show in the first place and then having the nerve to complain about the show. This could possibly be another situation where Holden himself acts phony.

Chapter 19 Holden's interaction with Carl Luce:
After going to the movies Holden decides to meet up with an old classmate named Carl Luce. Carl was Holden's advisor at the Whooton School and was very intellectual. Holden trusts his opinion and decides to ask him for advice over drinks. All Holden seems to remember about Luce is that the only thing he talked about was guys he thought were "flits" and sex. As a result, Holden decides to break the ice by asking Luce about his sex life. Unfortunately, this doesn't go over well. Holden hasn't thought about the fact that Luce may have matured over the past three years and no longer wants to talk about those things. When Holden tries to ask Luce for serious advice, he blows Holden off because he sees Holden as still immature. Holden then continues to pry into Luce's sex life, leading Luce to end the get-together and leave Holden alone at the bar.

Chapter 20
Summary: The chapter begins with Holden feeling pretty lousy after Carl Luce has ditched him because of his immature comments. Holden gets himself drunk and then stumbles to the phone booth and calls Sally Hayes. Sally treats him rather nice even though there last meeting ended bad. Sally realizes he's drunk and thinks it's more effective to be kind and tell him to go home and go to sleep than yell at him for his careless behavior. After getting off the phone with Sally and getting turned down by various girls at the bar Holden walks to the duck pond in Central Park. Upon arriving to the pond, Holden is annoyed that the ducks not visible so he walks around the entire lake looking for them. Only after does he realize they have all left New York. He becomes depressed realizing the ducks are gone and the only thing he had gotten from the trip, the record for Phoebe, was broken from his walk to the pond. Holden then becomes worried he'll catch pneumonia, like Allie, because his hair had frozen from the cold and imagines his own funeral. At this point we see Holden in one of his worst state's. He's utterly hopeless, alone, and cold in Central Park, which is enough to make the reader feel empathy for him where they couldn't before. After imagining his own funeral he's mind wanders to how he missed Allie's funeral because he was in the hospital for his hand. He then gets really depressed thinking about laying flowers on the stomachs of the dead and decides to go home. The chapter closes with Holden on his way home with a plan to sneak in, talk to Phoebe, and leave without his parents knowing.

Why does Holden go to Central Park looking for ducks?
After getting very drunk and calling up his friend Sally, Holden leaves the bar he and then he descides to go to Central Park. Before arriving to Central Park, Holden had dropped the record he had bought for his sister Phoebe. This made him feel even more depressed than he already was. He then descides to search for the ducks at the park. Holden searches for the ducks because he has nothing else to do and no where else to go. By going to the park he figured that he could possibly determine what his next step should be. Because he is drunk and not lucid, he wanders around the park for a long time looking for the lagoon where the ducks live. When he finds it he sees that all of the ducks are gone. At this point Holden finally runs out of ideas. He's out of money, its freezing cold, and he has nowhere to stay. The only thing he can do is go home and leave the park, just as the ducks have.

Why doesn't Holden want to be buried in a cemetery?
When Holden is thinking about dying from the cold outside, he thinks about his own funeral. He said "I thought about the whole bunch of them sticking me in a goddam cemetery and all... surrounded by dead guys". Holden then thinks about how he would rather be thrown into a river than buried in a cemetery. Plus, he feels disgusted being surrounded by other dead people. He then said, "people coming and putting flowers on your stomach on Sunday and all that crap. who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody." This shows how Holden really doesn't want to be pitied by other people after he is dead. Also, Holden talks about his brother in the cemetery. He said that when he went to visit Allie, " Twice -we were there when it started. It was awful.... All the visitors in the cemetery started running like hell over to their cars." When all the visitors left to get into their car, Holden felt really sad about that, because everyone could leave the cemetery and go do something else in the world but Allie couldn't. He was dead and stuck in a cemetery, and that was how Holden would be when he died. This is why Holden didn't want to be buried in a cemetery because it was too pitiful, gross, and sad for him.

Why do you think Sally reacts to Holden so calmly when he calls her after their date?
Holden's harsh words to Sally in chapter 17 bring her to tears and end their date suddenly. In contrast to this, when drunk Holden calls her later that night, Sally simply questions him about his situation and tells him to go to bed. This is because from the moment she picked up the phone, she knew Holden was drunk. In the beginning of the book, Holden mentions that Sally's stepfather is a drunkard. Since she is used to the behavior of people when they are drunk, the reader can assume that she also knows how to act around them. Having this knowledge, Sally is able to calmly but sternly tell Holden to go to bed and save her anger for another time as she says for him to call her tomorrow. Although Sally's words can be seen as kind, there is an underlying anger behind them. This is shown as she keeps the conversation formal using the repetition of "go to bed" and "yes". By keeping the conversation short and strict, Sally shows that her feelings are hurt by Holden's earlier offensive words, but she still cares about him being safe. Sally's overall reaction to Holden in this chapter is based on that knowledge she has of drunkards and concern for a friend, even though she is angry.

Chapter 21

Summary

Holden decides to sneak into his parents' apartment in the beginning of Chapter 21 to demonstrate what a morally upstanding individual he is. Thankfully, the regular night elevator boy isn't on duty, and he manages to convince the new elevator boy to take him up to his floor. Because his mother is a light sleeper, he is careful to tread lightly. He gets there "finally, after about an hour", only to find out that his sister is not there. He then goes to D.B.'s room, because "old Phoebe likes to sleep in D.B.'s room when he's away". Holden sees all her stuff spread out across the room, including clothes neatly laid on top of a chair and schoolbooks on the "big old madman desk". His curiosity aroused by the latter, Holden picks up her "Arithmetic Is Fun!" book and goes through the whole thing. Unconcerned about secondhand smoking, he lights a cigarette and proceeds to wake Phoebe up. Phoebe's delighted reaction to his appearance is blissful in its innocence, and they have a heartwarming reunion. She fills him in on the household's current events - her major part in the play as Benedict Arnold, D.B.'s new script on a love story in Annapolis, their parents staying out late - and persists in questioning why he's back from school so early. Holden dodges the question and gives Phoebe the broken pieces of the record, which she graciously accepts. Eventually, however, Phoebe sees right through him and guesses the truth: Holden was kicked out... again. She is furious with him, insisting, "Daddy'll kill you!" By the same token, this conversation confirms the strength of their relationship. Holden ends the chapter with yet another demonstration of his well-prioritized morals by stealing some cigarettes from his own house.

What does Phoebe’s reaction to Holden getting kicked out of Pencey show about her character?
When Phoebe figures out that Holden was kicked out of Pencey, she becomes very upset with Holden. She starts to hit him and tells him how dumb he was to be kicked out of another school. Phoebe keeps repeating over and over again how their father is going to kill Holden. Holden describes Phoebe as a very smart girl, who could see through him. Phoebe seems to know when Holden isn’t telling the truth, like when he said that he wasn’t kicked out; he was just let out early. Phoebe seems very concerned for her brother’s well being and situation when she was worried about her father “killing Holden.” Phoebe also seems upset with her brother for not trying in school and being kicked out of many schools. Phoebe is very concerned for Holden’s well being, and his actions.

Chapter 22
Summary : In the chapter 22, Holden continues to have a conversation with Pheobe. Holden asks her, "How's old Hazel Weatherfield?" Pheobe replies by saying, "Daddy'll kill you." That is her response to most of the questions Holden asks or she replies with something snotty. In the middle of their conversation, Pheobe asks Holden why he got kicked out of Pencey. In his reponse, he goes on to say that it was one of the worst schools he had ever been to and that it was full of phonies. After talking about the people at Pencey, he goes on to tell Pheobe about Veteran's Day and how all the guys that graduated around 1776 come back for a vist with their families. He also mentions how he didn't like anything that was happening at Pencey. Pheobe then says that he doesn't like anything at all and makes him tell her one thing that he does like. Holden couldn't think of anything besides the two nuns and James Castle. James was a student at Elkton Hills, that jumped out of window and died because he wouldn't take back something that he had said. Since Holden couldn't think of anything to say, so he tells Pheobe that he likes Allie, but Pheobe tells him that doesn't count because he is dead. She then gives up on this question and askes Holden what he would like to be when he grows up. She mentions that he could be a scientist or a lawyer. Holden says he isn't any good at science and that being a lawyer doesn't appeal to him. Holden does mention that he would like to be the person keeping all the kids from falling off the cliff and just be the catcher in the rye. Holden then decides to go give his former teacher, Mr. Antolini, a call.

When suggesting to Phoebe that he, Holden, wanted to be "The Catcher in the Rye" what did he mean?

Throughout the novel Holden has dipicted all adults as being phony and has embraced the free spirit of children. Holden hears a child walking down the street singing " catch a body meet a body". This song inspires Holden's dream of him in the rye preventing children from falling off of the cliff. Holden wanted to prevent children from falling off of a cliff in order to save them from losing their innocence. Therefore preventing them from conforming or in other words becoming phony. In the end Holden realizes that he himself must gain maturity and join the rest of the adults at the bottom of the cliff. He must also come to the conclusion that everyone needs to grow up at some point, that he needs to let children fall and experience getting back up having learnt something from their mistakes.

Chapter 23
Summary

In the beginning of chapter 23 Holden calls Mr. Antolini and tells him that he flunked out of Pency. Mr. Antolini tells him that he can come over. Then Holden goes back to Phoebe and they dance to the radio. Phoebe shows him how she thinks she can make her head warmer. Their parents come home and Holden puts out his cigarette and hides in the closet. Phoebe’s mom thinks that she has been smoking and seems relatively okay with it and they exchange light chatter. After their mom leaves the room Holden asks Phoebe for money and she gives him her Christmas money. Holden begins to cry and afterward he gives her his hunting hat and he leaves.

What does Phoebe’s encounter with her mother late at night show about their relationship?
When Phoebe’s mother walks in she notices the smoke in the room and asks her if she had been smoking. Although the cigarettes were Holden’s, Phoebe takes the blame for them. Instead of punishing her daughter, Phoebe’s mother just tells her not to do it again and drops the subject. This may have to do with a lack of discipline in their relationship or it could have to do with the time period that the story is taking place. Back in the 40’s or 50’s it may not have been as tremendous of an action to smoke because the medical outcome wasn’t well known or talked about. Then after chatting for a bit, Phoebe and her mother have a dialogue about her mother’s headache. Phoebe advises her to take some medicine for it. This created to illusion of Phoebe as a more responsible motherly figure and her mother as more of person who is not capable of taking care of herself. When first speaking of his parents in chapter 15, Holden mentions that his mother had not been well since the death of her son and his brother; Allie. Having lived alone with her mother and father while Holden was at school, Phoebe might have grown accustomed to looking after her mother in her fragile state.

Chapter 24

Holden arrives at Mr. and Mrs. Antolini's apartment in chapter 24 and plans to stay the night. As Holden and the Mr. Antolini talk and drink coffee, Holden explains his time at Pency and how he preformed in his classes, including Oral Expression. When Mr. Antolini mentions he has talked with Holden's worried father, their discussion turns and becomes an important life lesson for Holden. Mr. Antolini informs Holden that he is setting himself up for a very large fall without realizing it. He also encourages Holden by saying that he has potential and scolds him for not applying himself in his education. As Mr. Antolini begins to explain the journey of sizing one's mind, it is clear that Holden is very tired and so they decide to go to bed. Unfortunately, Holden's awakes in the middle of his sleep to find that Mr. Antolini is petting his head. This startles Holden and he thinks it is a perverted gesture. Unable to sleep thereafter, Holden decides to leave suddenly and rushes out of the Antolini's apartment in a panic. Mr. Antolini is confused by this and calmly calls out to Holden to come back after he has retrieved his bags, which is Holden's excuse for leaving. At the end of the chapter, Holden leaves the apartment startled as Mr. Antolini watches him.

Does Mr. Antolini's interpretation of where Holden's life is heading for agree with Holden's thoughts and actions so far?
- Yes. Holden has seemed to be on a downward spiral since we first met him in chapter one. At first, Holden's reactions could be seen as normal for a teenager. However, following Stradlater and Jane's date, Holden has been steadily losing his mind. He hates almost everything - except Phoebe, the two nuns, his deceased brother Allie, and a boy named James Castle who commited suicide at a previous school Holden attended. He describes himself as a madman on several occasions. On a date with Sally, he first says he loves her and attempts to convince her to run away with him. When she refuses he calls her a pain in the ass to her face. He meets with a friend from school, only to spend the meeting asking personal questions about the friend's love life. At one point, Holden begins imagining what would happen if he died. Mr. Antolini says that Holden is heading down a path that will result in him sitting in a bar "hating everybody who comes in looking as if he might have been playing football in college" (pg 186). Considering Holden's actions and thoughts so far, this seems to be a pretty accurate prediction of Holden's future if he continues the way he has been going over the course of the novel.

Chapter 25

The previous chapter ends with Holden leaving Mr. Antolini's apartment. Chapter 25 starts with Holden not knowing where to go. He does not want to go to a hotel and spend Phoebe's money. He decides to go down to the station, where his bags are, and sleep in one of the waiting rooms. He wakes up and starts to wonder about Mr. Antolini. He thinks about what Mr. Antolini will tell his wife when she askes him where Holden is. He also starts to wonder that maybe Mr. Antolini was not a pervert. Maybe he just liked to pat guys heads while they sleep. Holden then thought of how nice Mr. Antolini was to him.
Letting him come over in the middle of the night , giving him a lot of advice. Holden starts to think that maybe he should have gone back to Mr. Antolini's house. After he stops thinking he starts to read a magenize. he starts reading about hormones. Then he starts reading another article about cancer. In the article is says that if you had sores in your mouth that didn't heal pretty quickly then that is a sign of cancer. He says that he has had a sore on the inside of his lip for two weeks and it is probably cancer. He then quit reading it and went outside for a walk. He thought that he wuld be dead in a few months. He passed two guys that were unloading a big Christmas tree. He then went to a a cheap looking restaurant and got some doughnuts and coffee. He did not eat the doughnuts because he can not swallow them. The waiter took them back and did not charge him. He then starts walking down Fifth Avenue. He was looking at all the shops and he remembers how he and Phoebe drove this one salesman crazy at Bloomingdale. While walking up Fifth Avenue something spooky happens to him. Whenever he got to an edge of a crub he would think he would never make it to the other side. He thought that he would just fall down down down and nobody would see him again. He also would talk to Allie. He would ask Allie to not let him disapper. Then when he got to the other side he would thank Allie. That would happen over and over again. He then thought of how he should hitch hike out West and get a job at a filling station. He would then build himself a cabin and meet and beautiful girl. He would them marry her. Before he left for the West he had to say goodbye to Phoebe. So he decided to write her a note and go to her school and have somebody give it to her. The not just sayed how he was going out West and how he wanted to say good bye before he did. He told he to meet him at the Museum of Art at quarter past 12. Then he went to her school and had somebody give Phoebe the note. He went to the muesum and waited for her. Finally she arrived wearing the red hunting hat and dragging a suitcase. Holden askes her what the suitcase was for and she said that she was going with Holden. He said no and they got into a agurement that ended with Phoebe crying. He decided to take her to the zoo because she refused to go to school. The walked on different street sides the whole way to the zoo. Phoebe then watched the sea lions beign fed. Once they saw the bears they left the zoo. Phoebe still would not talk to him. Then he suggested that they go on the carrousel. He stood there watching Phoebe ride the carrousoul. Phoebe then went over to Holden and put the hunting hat on his head. Then she went on the carrousoul again and waved to Holden. Holden felt so happy he was about to cry.

Why does Phoebe want to run away with her brother?
-- Phoebe is an interesting character in this book. She is one of the very few who Holden doesn't view as phony. Holden has a deep compassion for her, and is very shocked to hear her ask to run away with him. As far as the interaction with the main character goes, Phoebe is a very affectionate sister. When Holden first sneaks into his home and wakes her up, the first thing she does, is get excited. But, not only is she affectionate, she is smart as well. After realizing that Holden was home much earlier than expected, she asked, "How come you're not home Wednesday?" This caught Holden off guard, showing how intelligent and how fast she catches on to her older brother. Phoebe has a concerned heart for her brother and as her sister, she might have felt that Holden would need her intelligence on his journey. Also, she deeply cares for Holden because she so willingly said, "I'm going with you." Even though Holden says no, Phoebe insists on coming with him, because she is his sister, and she cares about Holden. This is why she wanted to run away with him.

Has holden Changed or at Least Realized Something?
At the end of chapter 25 Holden is watching his sister go around and around on a carrousel. Throughout the entire book Holden mentions that he is always lonely and depressed. For the first time Holden actually says that he is happy when he watching his sister. Holden says this after the second time that Phoebe goes around on the carrousel. It begins to rain but he just stays on jthje bench and watches her. The carrousel that Phoebe is riding could possibly represent life and its cycles. Holden says at one point he was afraid that Phoebe might fall off, while she tries to reach for this golden ring. But then he says " The thing width kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them." Reality hits Holden in the face at this moment. He gives up his want of being "the catcher in the rye" and finally reaalizes that children have to fall, its a part of the cycle. But the okay thing about falling is that they will get up again and keep trying to reach for the golden ring. Holden had reached the fall that his former teacher Mr. Antolini had told him about. But then he decides that he wants to get up and start reaching for the golden ring, for the first time. Holden wants to give life another try.

Why does Holden dislike all the swear words on the walls?
Throughout chapter 25 Holden sees three swear words on different walls. He sees two in the school and one by the mummies in the museum. Both of these places are meant to be places for children. This is why he dislikes them being there so much. When Holden sees them he comments on how it drove him crazy and how he wanted to kill whoever had written it. Holden rubs off the first one he sees but is unable to rub off the second. Holden dislikes the fact that someone has written them so much because he wants to preserve the children’s innocence. He says that the kids would think and even worry about what was written. Holden believes that they should be able to live their childhood worry free and not loose their innocence this way.

Analysis/Explanation

I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth. I don't know why. It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all. God, I wish you could've been there. - Page 213

Holden has been to hell and back by the time he makes this statement at the end of Chapter 25. At that point, Holden is feverish and dog-tired from lack of sleep and food. He has suffered the emotional trauma of a possibly misinterpreted sexual come-on by one of the few people he trusts, and he's too afraid to go home and face the people he should trust the most: his parents. The reality and implications of running away is forced home when Phoebe, his all-knowing kid sister, tries to come along with him. The latter is the final straw and breaks the metaphorical camel's back; Holden finally loses the last pieces of his sanity and snaps at Phoebe, the one person he cares most about in the world. To soothe Phoebe's ruffled feathers, he takes her to the zoo. She rides the carousel, and her presence allows him to finally relax and enjoy her happiness. As he watches her spin round and round, the pieces finally click together: this is the best it gets, and he's been looking for the wrong thing the whole time. As Mr. Spencer said, he is one of the men for "who, at some time or other in their lives were looking for something... they thought their own environment couldn't supply them with... so they gave up looking. They gave it up before they ever really even got started."

This quote from Chapter 25 is a profound glimpse of Holden's maturity and character development throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, he is almost childishly amused at others' misfortunes - for example, carelessly loses the fencing team's equipment and believing it a sport to have the fencing team mad at him. He cares only for himself and finding his own happiness, too lost in his own world to notice that how others may feel, such as when his insensitive remarks drive Stradlater over the edge. Since he insists on living for himself, he really derives no joy from life at all. His emotions have jumped from annoyed to amused to tired and half-dead, but never has the reader seen him as truly being happy. Catcher in the Rye documented Holden's search for that something - that meaning for waking up every morning - and he finds it only when he is at the lowest of lows. Having taken life - and all its benefits, like his education, wealth, and the people around him - for granted, he only truly appreciates its worth when everything is all stripped away from him. By appreciating how much worse things can be, he learns that what truly makes him happy - Phoebe and all the little things - have been right in front of him the whole time.

Further Analysis (Swear Words on the Wall):

In this chapter, Holden becomes angry when he discovers the swear words written on the wall at Phoebe's school. He believes that by seeing the words the children attending the school would loose their innocence. It is yet another example of Holden wanting to be a hero. By talking about how he imagines himself slamming the head of the person who wrote the words into the stone steps until they were bloody we see that this is another moment where Holden wants to be the hero. Holden also discusses with Phoebe earlier in the book how he wants to save children playing in the rye from falling off the cliff. When he sees Phoebe on the carousel he realizes that sometimes you have to let children fall and that he does not need to be the hero. This discovery shows us how Holden has matured throughout the course story.

Chapter 26
Summary:
Holden ends the story by choosing not to discuss what hapened with him and Phoebe in the park. He is soposed to attend a new school. He regrets telling his story and ends up admitting that he misses his whole story.
Analysis: At the end of the book Holden obviously is very ill. Holden is probably telling this to a phycaitrist because of how he finally admits.

Overall Notes:

What does Holden's revealed location in chapter 26 have to do with his behavior throughout the novel?

In the novel Holden behaved as if there were something mentally wrong with him. Holden would go through points where he would be very depressed a to times where he was very happy and enthusiastic. The pattern of these two emotions suggest that Holden might have been Bipolar. Holden also seemed o talk to people that weren't really there such as Allie and when he imagines shooting Maurice in the elevator shaft. At the end of the book Holden's metal health starts t take a toll on his physical health. showing how sick he actually was. Holden never seemed to logically think through situations like most people people do, he just acted on impulse. Holden never seemed to be able to concentrate on particular thought or idea for a long time either. He would jump from one random topic to another. Throughout the novel there are signs that Holden is mentally ill.